Mekhi Ragland made his unofficial college basketball debut for Oklahoma State during an exhibition game against Auburn. Although he played only two minutes, you could feel his presence on the court.
Literally.
The 18-year-old true freshman adds a massive presence to the frontcourt for the Cowboys. His role will only continue to grow as his college basketball career continues.
Who is Mekhi Ragland?
One of the largest prospects in the Class of 2025 slipped a little bit under the radar during his recruiting cycle because of a foot injury that forced him to miss his entire senior year of high school. And yet, he was still rated as a three-star recruit.
The cousin of Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper received only six scholarship offers from DePaul, East Carolina, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Morehouse College and Oklahoma State. Ole Miss and Mississippi State also showed interest.
Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz ultimately received his commitment.
Ragland, who originally grew up in New Jersey, moved to the Atlanta area as a teen and spent the first few years of his high school basketball career at Berkmar High School. He was named as a Georgia Class 7A All-Star as a junior and made the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s All-Metro Team. It’s not hard to see why.
Not only is it impossible to guard such a large player in the paint, Ragland can step back and drain a triple in your eye. Rarely did he not finish with a double-double.
When not playing for his high school, Ragland also played for Team Huncho on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. The team’s starting center averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 15 games while shooting 60% from the field, an impressive 44% from three and 75% at the foul line. Solid numbers!
Mekhi Ragland later enrolled at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, a national basketball powerhouse, prior to his senior year. A foot injury suffered during preseason practices kept him on the sideline.
And then it was off to Stillwater!
How big is Oklahoma State basketball’s newest big man?
Steve Lutz assembled a large roster for his second season with the Cowboys. Oklahoma State added 6-foot-9, 300-pound freshman Ben Ahmed, 7-foot-3, 225-pound junior Gabe Dynes, and Ragland during the offseason. They join 6-foot-11, 270-pound sophomore Andrija Vukovic, 6-foot-1, 250-pound redshirt senior Parsa Fallah and a few other players at 6-foot-8 or greater.
Good luck getting into the paint!
“We always want to play through our big men, and Mekhi gives us that ability,” Lutz said. He’s a strong and physical post presence who has an outstanding feel for the game, particularly as a passer. He has good hands, quick feet and a shooting touch that extends all the way out to the perimeter.”
As we saw against Auburn on Wednesday night, Fallah and Vukovic will get the majority of minutes at the four and five spots for Oklahoma State in 2025/26. However, Ragland also made his debut in his first real game action in more than a year as if Lutz might want to work him into the game plan later on.
Opponents are already planning accordingly.
He is listed on the roster at 6-foot-11, 330 pounds. You can’t miss him!
The roster names Ragland as a forward. That might have more to do with his shooting than his size.
Most players at almost seven feet, more than 300 pounds do not have range. Mekhi Ragland does!
The Cowboys ultimately beat the Tigers by two points in overtime during their exhibition scrimmage. Oklahoma State appears to be legit. Ragland could provide a huge boost off of the bench.